Ashurbanipal 208

~655 BCE·Neo-Assyrian·Q007616

Translation — scholar edition

RINAP 5

High confidence

(1) For the god Sîn, the light of heaven [and netherworld, ...], who is crowned with the crown of the highest rank, wh[o ..., w]ho marks the day, month, and y[ear ..., w]ho reveals the signs of the lord of the cr[own ..., (5) w]ho delivers verdicts, who renders decision(s) for heav[e]n [and netherworld, ..., w]ho pacifies the heart of the gods, who releas[es ...], who issues final command and decisio[n, w]ho elevates [...], without whom the gods, [h]is br[others, could not determine] the fates of those of hea[ven and netherworld, ...]; (9) the god Namraṣīt (Sîn), the light of the upper world,…

Royal Inscriptions of the Neo-Assyrian Period, volume 5 — scholar edition (ORACC).

Why it matters

Hymns Sîn as the cosmic arbiter who alone enables gods to fix fates for heaven and netherworld, attesting the theological elevation of the moon-god under the late Sargonid kings.

Transliteration

⸢a⸣-na d30 na-an-nàr AN-⸢e⸣ [u KI-tim ...] / ⸢a⸣-pir AGA da-nù-ú-ti ⸢ša⸣ [...] / ⸢mu⸣-ad-du-ú u₄-me ITI u ⸢MU⸣.[AN.NA ...] / ⸢mu⸣-kal-lim ṣa-ad-di EN ⸢AGA⸣ [...] / ⸢na⸣-din šip-ṭi KUD-is EŠ.BAR ⸢AN-e⸣ [u KI-tim ...] / ⸢mu⸣-ni-iḫ lìb-bi DINGIR.MEŠ ⸢mu⸣-pa-áš-⸢šir⸣ [...] / ga-mir ur-ti u ṭè-e-⸢me mu⸣-šaq-⸢qí⸣ x [...] / ⸢ša⸣ e-la šá-a-šú DINGIR.MEŠ ⸢at⸣-[ḫu]-⸢šu⸣ ši-mat ⸢šu-ut AN⸣-[e u KI-tim la…

Scholarly note

Royal inscription of Ashurbanipal or a late Sargonid successor, edited by Jamie Novotny & Joshua Jeffers (RINAP 5, 2018–). ORACC text Q007616.

Attribution

Image: BM — (British Museum, London, UK) — from Nineveh (mod. Kuyunjik) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/artifacts, P397742). source
Translation excerpted from Novotny, J. & Jeffers, J. 2018–. The Royal Inscriptions of Ashurbanipal (668–631 BC), Aššur-etel-ilāni (630–627 BC) and Sîn-šarra-iškun (626–612 BC), Kings of Assyria. RINAP 5. University Park, PA: Eisenbrauns. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/rinap/rinap5/Q007616/.

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